Seattle, yes, I do. Saw it from afar. Our first stop setting out from the hotel, it’s a pretty massive building on the all around. Parked over back behind the around the there, and walked up. Someone yellow brick roaded up the curb approaches so you can find the front side and get in, which I did while Phil, you knoooow, gone got his smoke on. I know, shocker...

Entranceway foyer with cushy worn leather chairs, a phantom red phone booth, and views of the brewery right there to the right, the whole deal, soup to nuts. I love the spent grain chute dump into a slat 2 yard for the forklifting away. To the left, a rounded glass corner room of pub. Inside, a lengthy varnished wood topped fishhook shaped bar, the likes of which I’ve never seen before. Bar has some inlayed striping pattern action, a raised trim lip, panel base, & brass foot rail. Seating for a dozen and a half on bar chairs end to end, save the looped backside, which holds tiered booze and separates the kitchen behind it. 2 copper box tap towers of 10 each, at opposite ends of the bar sporting house logo & guest handles, and a handpump hiding somewhere. Glass mug club mugs hang from the underside of the over hang above, and baby spots recessed overhead.

4 booths behind me, and 10 square tables solo or in pairs in the windows over Leary & 7th NW, but a few in the center, and a single round table fronting a pair of cushy chairs facing each other. 5 bar counter spur tables on the rounded front bend near the entrance, with drop martini glass lighting above. And through to the rear room, decorated with event posters, lots of ‘em. Booths on opposite walls, 7 in all, and 7 square tables in between for build to your party’s size. Just shy of a dozen more to the rear, and a 7 small round tables outside on a raised patio triangle. And a banquet room upstairs I didn’t feel the need to look in on, as you know, I was not entertaining for 50.

And food, ‘cause I haven’t eaten since yesterday, and now it’s today. Started with a bowl of house smoked salmon chowder, which was good. And a Hale’s pub salad; greens, baby tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, in a house balsamic vinaigrette, which I took salmoned up. I’m going to salmon up everything everywhere. What? Would I like fresh ground pepper? Are you serious? Who wouldn’t? Oh, you dole out a good deal of pepper and are strong? We will test that. It was the best fuckin’ salad ever. Ev-er. Phil went with something biscuit, Canadian bacon & eggs; good standard eats. He did not finish his potatoes, though. Suspicious, yes.

Beers were solid for the most part, a few of them were excellent, and I wouldn’t say there were any full on clunkers in the lot. Really nice folks, Sarah tended; she is the goods. Comfortable enough place. What else is on for the day?

Hale's Ales has all the look and feel of an upscale chain microbrewery, but with none of the pretentiousness. The space is huge. The tables are plenty. The televisions are limited, but you can find one if you really want to. Nothing is overdone. It's comfy and contemporary at the same time. I like it a lot.

On a second visit I made sure to have plenty of room to try the food, and boy am I glad I did! It's hard to find good barbecue in the Pacific Northwest, but Hale's has barbecue done right. I ordered the beef brisket, which came in large chunks that I pulled apart with my knife and fork, and was accompanied by baked beans and coleslaw. The sides were fine, but the brisket really stood out. Absolutely fantastic.

My friend and I had already put down several beers at Maritime Pacific down the street before ordering a sampler of everything on Hale's menu. We didn't realize there were 14 different beers, but we got through them, and even ordered a pint of our favorite.

But with all the beer, my memory is a bit fuzzy. Everything was good but nothing really stood out. If I had to choose a few, I would go with the Troll Porter, the Imperial Stout (which was definitely IMPERIAL! Great for the style!) or the pint we ordered. I forget the name, but apparently each of the brewers in Seattle threw something in the mix and this is what came out. It was spicy like harvest ale.

I was struggling with whether or not to visit this place. It'd been recommended by some of my friends who used to frequent Seattle, but everyone on here told me to avoid it. Well, I stopped in and actually quite enjoyed myself.

Atmosphere is kind of high scale. Some really fancy seating areas near the bar and a bunch of drunk businessmen. "But I thought the main thing was to keep the main thing the main thing. And the main thing was supposed to be beer, not overstuffed leather chairs." /shakes fist at sky/

The beers were actually quite nice. They tend to go more for session beers, all of which were solid, but they also have some bigger beers. The barleywine was OK, but the Aftermath IIPA was pretty freakin' awesome.

Friendly, and relatively prompt service. I waited for awhile at the gift desk, though.

Very good selection of beers. Three nitro beers, which were decent sessioners, and several other of varying style.

Good food, a bit on the side of glorified pub grub, but good nonetheless.

Overall a cool stop, and definitely worthwhile for visitors to visit. Seems like the Bell's of Seattle. Except, you know, good.

I've been going to Hale's for a number of years and usually get great service if I sit at the bar, and have greatly enjoyed the new beer recipes over the past couple of years.

I more wanted to mention, though, the current state of the upper management. Mike Hale, as many of us know, is a born-again Christian who looks down on drinking. He has recently started firing employees who, despite great reviews and service, stating that "things aren't working out". In response to the increase in cost of hops and malt, he stated, "then just use less", resulting in dumbed down beers. It seems that his internal battle is finally affecting his ability to run a top notch brew pub.

Finally got a chance to visit this place as it represents a nice part of Seattle brewing history. The place is pretty big with the brewery in full operation right next door open to the public and not behind glass. You could smell the boiling wort and the smell from the spent grain as the guys worked the bottling line next to the mash tun. The outside patio is nice when the weather is good and the selection of beers is for every palate from the novice beer drinker to the BA. I noticed a few seasonals including some bigger beers like the Double IPA, a barleywine and an imperial stout. A few beers also were on nitro as well such as the Cream Ale.

Food was good and fresh with even the Hummus, Baba Ganoush and Tapenade tasting like it was made in house. The best way to order beers is in schooners giving you the chance to try a nice array. I mixed the Double Mongoose IPA with the Troll Porter to create a kind of Dark IPA with great results.

The waiter was casual and well informed and the service was efficient. Prices were reasonable and there is lots of parking close by.

My first visit to Hale's took place during the closing ceremonies for Seattle Beer Week 2010. The beer fest took place in the Palladium out behind the brewery, but I took a few minutes to go out to the pub for a few minutes.

There's a lot of glass at the front of the bar area, which is separated from the family friendly dining area. There was a TV up in back of the bar, and the kitchen is visible from the bar as well.

A nice selection of Hales own brews were on tap, I had a 2 year old 25th Anniversary Dubble and a Pale Ale. As there was food at the brewfest I only had a quick appetizer, lime chicken skewers, that was very tasty.

The bartender that day, Karen, was very friendly and efficient, without being intrusive or harried on a busy day. The prices were in line with what you expect to pay in a major city these days.

Overall, a nice place to visit if you're in the Fremont area of Seattle.

It's a pretty big place with plenty of seating. It was a little dead that night (weird because it's Saturday and kind of scary) so service was top notch. The menu was filled with some of Mom's home cooking. I had the meatloaf and was quite pleased. Out of the group of eight all of us were happy with the food keeping in mind that it's a brewery. I didn't get into any of the mainstay beers because they are all over here all year. However they had a dry hopped seasonal IPA going that was very floral and quite tasty. In my opinion it's well worth the try and I'd even go back for seconds.

I've been to Hale's numerous times over the years, but most recently spent the playoffs getting brunch and pre-funking here. Go Hawks!

I really like the atmosphere of the bar area; dark wood, a clean environment that is somehow also a little bit too-close and dank, and a couple of TVs but without that sports-bar vibe. Service has been quite good, with knowledgeable and friendly staff who know their beer and are up for a chat. They have at least a dozen taps with one beer on cask at all times and at least another on nitro; there's usually something I want there.

I'm not a huge fan of all of Hale's beers, but there are always a couple in there range that I enjoy and can get. The smoked porter I had with my eggs and biscuits paired really well; I'll definitely be back for this combo. Overall, I really like the place.

Friendly staff who knew regulars but was not distracted from doing her job, although she wanted to smoke a stogie quite badly. I have seen others leave and hope somebody covers for them, this lady waited for all bases to be covered for sure b/f leaving with a regular for a smoke, I appreciated that. Pretzel was all I had hoped for to compliment my Reuben's Brew. Regulars seemed in their own world (i.e. phones) so it felt as if I was alone watching "soccer". Respectful conversations about customers from management made me feel like they talked about others, like we all do, but not like snobs, just like normal folks. Good place to stop in for a beer or two but I would not make it a regular habit to visit solely b/c the location from my place on Alki. They hosted the Winter Beer Festival in December and that was a blast. Some neat gear in the gift shop area.

What a perfect place to enjoy a few hours of beer drinking. All I can say is AFTERMATH IPA. That is one tasty beer that had just got released afew days before we stopped by.I really like this area of town. Its a great stop in the middle of Maritime brewing (couple blocks). Brouwers Cafe (couple miles).

We were lucky to run into one of the MGR's on his day off. He just came off as a regular customer. But I got to tell ya he was pretty cool for taking us on a somewhat private tour. Great Guy. GOOD TIMES!!

The Hale's brewpub is located on a strip of industrial buildings halfway between ballard and fremont in Seattle. When you walk in the front doors, you see all the brewery equipment on the right with the pub on the left. The pub itself has a nice feel to it and feels cozy. In one area, there are leather sofas and chairs for people to hang out on and several booths along the bar. There is also a section of tables devoted to families with kids. The food is standard pub fare but was pretty good. The beers are what you would expect from Hale's line. Nothing stood out as anything special, but they were decent examples of their styles.

Hale's Brewery and Pub is one-third pub, one-third brewery, and one-third warehouse and everything else. The floor plan is expansive yet open with limited outdoors dining and a banquet room upstairs. Where most brewpubs have the brew house sequestered behind glass, at Hale's it is the restaurant that is walled off from the open brewery. The brewing system is partly gravity fed and placards inform visitors of its various functions. You can even watch the beers ferment by way of mirrors above the open fermenters.

I can't express much enthusiasm for Hale's beers. Or for their food. Most beers are clean but timid, though in this respect, Hale's American Pale Ale is a frail and reclusive gem. Many recipes date to the 1980's and don't reflect the greater measure of inspired creativity with which brewers elevated the artistry of craft brewing from the mid-90's on. Hale's El Jefe Weizen and seasonal Irish Nut Brown are worthy of a pint but aren't compelling. And the food is at times overtly disappointing, lacking freshness and invention.

Still, Hale's pub is a sizeable, multi-room establishment and draws a full house nightly during peak dining hours. The kitchen staff work like a drill team and the servers are numerous and attentive. They're also personable, engaging, and fun. Hale's prides itself on pioneering the use of nitro- expeller gasses many years ago and regularly features three nitro beers and one cask alongside its six regulars and multiple seasonals. They've also recently added a guest tap; on my last visit, a blonde ale from Flyers.

The main entrance is through the brewery and the first thing you'll see is the mash tun, brewkettle and fermentors. The entrance to the bar is through a door to the left and there's a dining room with a glass wall looking into the brewery. But the brewhouse and the pub are basically kept seperate. There's also a smallish patio off the main dining room. A few style points for the couches in the main room.

Hale's beers do a perfectly good job of pleasing the masses. I find them solid and drinkable but never awe-inspiring. I feel kind of the same way about the food. The pulled pork sandwich is really good, but any number of Bar-b-que spots in Seattle do it better. The burgers, same thing. Good but if I'm craving a great burger, I won't think of them.

I don't want to sound negative because I think the place is fine. But so are lots of brewpubs around the country.

Our second stop on our Saturday afternoon beer journey. After lunch at Brouwer's Cafe, we headed up the street to Hale's Pub. Nice layout inside. The tanks and brewery equipment are on the right, open for viewing. The pub is on the left, and the large windows that separate this area still give off the feeling of being right in a brewpub since you can still see the tanks. Lots of leather seats and couches for patrons. Pulled up seats at the bar, and chatted with a nice bartender. I ordered the seasonal Tripel, and my wife had the Porter. Both very good. A decent brewpub, worth a visit if in the area.